Twin Cites Duplex Market Fares Well In Risk Survey

Last week two new national indexes that measure real estate risk came out last week, offering geographical clues as to where the market may well continue to topple.

The title insurance company PMI Group issues quarterly metropolitan area risk lists. The report covers 381 markets and ranks them according to the likelihood that real estate values will continue to decline in the next two years.

The good news is Minneapolis/St Paul is not one of the highest risk areas for continued values. Those honors go to snowbird destinations like Riverside, Calif.,  and the areas of Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Tampa, Orlando and Phoenix.

Meanwhile, the Twin Cities hovered in the middle of the top 50 risk areas at number 25 and earning a PMI label of Moderate as its risk rank.

According to PMI, the least risky markets for further price declines can be found in Texas. Dallas, Ft. Worth, Houston and San Antonio are all in the top five, with Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Cleveland, Denver and Indianapolis also looking like safe bets.

The ugly house people at Home Vestors also issued a quarterly real estate index. According to their figures which are based on volume of purchases in the final quarter of 2008, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Ft. Worth and Denver are among their top ten markets for the opportunity to profit this year.

While this mirrors the data from PMI, Home Vestors figures also project Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Minneapolis and Atlanta as top turnaround markets.  Of course, this bodes well for us.

Let’s hope they’re right.